Hepatitis A, B, C and D in a community in Italy of immigrants from NE Africa

Abstract

A total of 213 subjects from a community in Italy of immigrants from Somalia and other NE African countries were enrolled in this study to evaluate the prevalence of HAV, HBV, HCV and HDV infections and to assess their possible risk factors. Of the subjects, 45 per cent (96) were female and 24 per cent (52) were under 12 years old. The age range was from 1 to 67 years and the mean age was 24 years. Eighty-three per cent (177 subjects) were born in Somalia, 10 per cent (21 subjects) in Ethiopia, and the rest in Djibouti, Egypt or Saudi Arabia. The 213 subjects were administered a questionnaire which covered socio-demographic characteristics and risk factors resulting from Western medical practice, traditional medicine, personal behaviour and living conditions. Blood was drawn from 209 subjects to ascertain the presence of HbsAg, HBeAg, anti-HAV, anti-HBc, anti-HBs, anti-HCV and anti-HDV. The results of this study show an HAV prevalence of 96 per cent (an 87.5 per cent prevalence in children under 12), and an HBV prevalence of 32 per cent (a 3.3 per cent prevalence of HBsAg carriers). No subject under 11 was HBV positive and no woman tested positive for HBeAg, confirming the extreme unlikelihood of vertical transmission of HBV. The prevalence of HBV is closely correlated with age (ranging from 2 per cent in those under 12 to 59 per cent in subjects over 39).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Epidemiology of viral hepatitis in Somalia: Systematic review and meta-analysis study

“…This virus thus creates a public health concern, primarily in developing countries, due to its persistent circulation in the environment. Among the studies presented in Somalia, more than 90% of children had the HAV antibody by the age of 4 years[ 15 - 19 ]. In 1992, Mohamud KB and his colleagues studied a Somali sample of 593 subjects who were healthy rural and urban volunteers and child outpatients ages 0-83 years in three villages in Somalia (Mogadishu area: Buur-Ful village; Jowhar District: Mooda Moode; and Bur-Hakaba District and Bajuni Islands: Kismaio District).…”

“…Sebastiani et al [ 18 ] presented a result of 90.6%. Another study conducted in Italy for immigrant communities, which included 213 subjects, mostly originating from Somalia (177 or 83%), Ethiopia (21 or 10%), and Djibouti, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, showed a very high prevalence of HAV of 96%, including children (87.5% of children were under 12 years)[ 19 ].These reports of anti-HAV prevalence rates across the 4 studies ranged from 59.2% to 96%[ 15 - 19 ], as shown in Table 1 . Four studies met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis of the prevalence of HAV infection.…”

Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Native versus Immigrant or Adopted Children in Italy Following the Compulsory Vaccination

“…Nevertheless, among immigrant groups, improved social status or sociomedical integration, as well as the possibility of vaccination especially for children, could reduce the risk of household spread [9].…”

Interferon-alpha treatment of hepatitis D induces tuberculosis exacerbation in an immigrant

“…In an Italian multicenter epidemiological study promoted by the Italian Society for Infectious and Tropical Diseases, HIV infection, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis (all types), were the most common infectious diseases requiring hospitalization among immigrants, with a very similar prevalence of 16.8%, 13.4% and 12.5%, respectively. 2 Among hepatitis cases, seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus has been reported to be as high as 32% in North African 3 and 62% in Albanian refugees. 4 As a consequence the proportion of HBsAgþ immigrants referred to Italian Hepatology centers is increasing; in our unit the prevalence rose from zero to 10e15% in the last 10 years (unpublished observation).…”